Snoop Dogg Revives His Gangsta Rap Roots in His Latest Album COOLAID

Since his emergence alongside Dr. Dre back in 1992, the Long Beach, California-based rapper and entertainer Snoop Dogg has helped carry the '90s West Coast hip-hop scene to its legendary status, and remains a critical influence to this day. Pioneering the G-funk (gangsta funk) sound with early classics like Doggystyle and Tha Doggfather, Snoop has continued to explore different sounds while retaining his authentic cool, smoked out vibe throughout his fruitful career.

After his recent foray into the genres of reggae and disco-funk, Snoop Dogg has returned to his truest form on his 14th studio album, COOLAID.

The album dropped today, July 1, as an Apple Music exclusive, and is chock-full of heavy-hitting feature verses and top-notch beats.

Production on COOLAID was handled by the likes of Just Blaze, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and the late J. Dilla, while Too $hort, Jeremih, Wiz Khalifa, and others provide quality features to the diverse 20-track album.

Snoop debuted his music video for the lead single “Kush Ups” on MERRY JANE. The video showcases Snoop and fellow stoner Wiz Khalifa looking classy in a black-and-white setting filled with smoke, models, and a BMW equipped with suicide doors. Just a few days ago, Snoop dropped the second single from COOLAID, called “Point Seen Money Gone”, a funky, bass-driven track featuring the smooth voice of the R&B singer Jeremih.

This summer, Snoop Dogg and Wiz are teaming up for the High Road Tour presented by MERRY JANE. The 33-city tour kicks off July 20 in West Palm Beach.

Aside from the singles that have already been released, another standout track on the album is “My Carz”, which features production from the legendary J.Dilla, who samples the recognizable classic rock song “Cars” by Gary Numan. The intro track, called “Legend”, features a bass-driven trapped out beat, letting all listeners know the the legendary rapper is back and better than ever. “Came up with the Doc, been around the world with Pac/Don't compare another rapper to me,” he spits on the opening track.

All in all, Snoop’s latest album pushes a lot of boundaries and mends a number of different genres together, but the underlying theme of funky bass and classically smooth Snoop bars give this album a subtle '90s West Coast vibe that Snoop Dogg helped create. But still, the album is packed with modern, electronically-driven and trap-infused production, which ultimately proves that, despite his lengthy career, Snoop can still hang amongst the new-age hip-hop scene.

And, if you needed more proof that this new album is a revival of the classic Snoop, the cover art for the album was done by Joe Cool, a cousin of Snoop Dogg who also created the widely recognized cover for the 1993 album Doggystyle.

The album artwork is certainly a nod to the classic 1993 album cover, featuring a suave, dreadlocked cartoon ‘Dogg’ at a COOLAID stand selling colorful pitchers of swag, style, and of course, ‘G’ to the neighborhood kids.